News

Week In Review, April 19, 2019

Post Date:04/19/2019

April 19, 2019
Here is the latest edition of Week In Review - a series of weekly messages from the Mayor and City Council to help Richardson residents and businesses keep up to date on events at City Hall. If you would like to sign up to receive this in a weekly e-mail click here.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday that Texas Instruments Inc. (TI) will increase its presence in Richardson and build a new 300mm analog semiconductor wafer fabrication facility near the intersection of W. Renner Road and Alma Road. Upon completion, the new facility is expected to create more than 488 jobs and represent more than $3.1 billion in capital investment.

TI administration cited Richardson’s access to talent, an existing supplier base and multiple nearby airports as factors in choosing the city for its expansion, as well as operational efficiencies due to the close proximity of the new facility to TI’s existing Richardson factory.

Developer Unveils New Identity for Richardson Main Street
Developer Durkin Properties LLC, in partnership with Greenway Investment Company, Catalyst Urban Development and Fobare Commercial, revealed this week a new name and branding strategy for the Main Street area and its businesses.

THE “core” (The Richardson Core District) was selected after several months of research and evaluation by design firm Dodd Creative Group, who worked with Main Street area property and business owners as well as other community leaders to develop a concept and logo for the downtown area.

Durkin Properties plans to develop several projects on and around Main Street that will include a mix of retail and multi-family buildings and will coincide with a mixed-use development proposed for the northeast corner of Main Street and US 75. Both projects are expected to launch late this year.

This July, the City of Richardson will also start construction on a Main Street Redevelopment/Reinvestment Project that includes the reconstruction of Main Street between US 75 and Abrams Road along with wider sidewalks, lighting fixtures, picnic tables, benches, two new park areas and trees planted along both sides of Main Street and the construction of tree-lined medians. The planned completion date for the road work is October 2020. Future updates on the road construction project will be made available via a dedicated web page, www.cor.net/mainstreet.

City Council Updated on Collins/Arapaho Rezoning Initiative
Project staff updated the City Council Monday on the rezoning initiative for the Collins/Arapaho Transit-Oriented Development and Innovation District. The rezoning initiative, which began in March, follows an 11-month study that crafted a vision for the 1,200-acre area that was green-lighted by the City Council earlier this year.

The rezoning process will involve several meetings with stakeholders, City Council members and the public over the next six to seven months. Standards involving architecture, use, streets and signage are among the components to be discussed; temporary, “pop-up” demonstration areas are planned for the future along Duck Creek and Greenville Avenue to give the public a real-world look at design and use possibilities for those areas.

Early Voting Begins Monday
Early voting for the May 4 election takes place April 22-30. The Richardson City Hall/Civic Center is an early voting location for any Richardson resident who lives in either Dallas or Collin County, a change for Collin County/Richardson residents who previously had to vote in City and County elections at separate sites.

The complete schedule for early voting at the City Hall/Civic Center is as follows:

Monday, April 22-27—8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Sunday, April 28—1-6 p.m.

Monday, April 29-30—7 a.m.-7 p.m.

Applications for Ballot by Mail must be received by county elections officials by 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 23. For more information, visit www.cor.net/elections.

Groundbreaking Held for Fire Station 3
The official groundbreaking for the new Fire Station 3 was held Tuesday, with City Council members and Richardson Fire personnel in attendance. The station is being constructed at the northwest corner of Custer Parkway and Lookout Drive, across the street from the current Fire Station 3.

The project is a high priority from the 2015 Strategic Fire Station Plan and was included in the 2015 Bond Program. The new station will more than double the current station’s size to 13,200 square feet, allowing for more trucks, equipment and personnel to meet future demands. Move-in is planned for March 2020.

Juvenile Curfew Ordinance Continued
The City Council voted this week to keep an ordinance that continues Richardson’s juvenile curfew. The curfew, in place since July 1994, restricts any person under age 17 from being out in the city during the following hours:

11 p.m.-6 a.m.—Sunday-Thursday

12:01 a.m.-6 a.m.—Friday and Saturday

Exceptions include if a minor is running an errand for a parent or traveling to/from work. The curfew is similar to curfews in surrounding cities and is designed to discourage criminal activity among juveniles and protect them from being victims of crime.

State law requires the curfew ordinance to be reviewed every three years. To view Monday’s hearing, click here.

New Water Conservation/Emergency Water Resource Management Plans Adopted
The City Council passed an ordinance Monday to amend the City’s water conservation and water resource management plans. The revised plans include “housekeeping” updates such as language clarifications and the inclusion of new legal requirements, as well as policy changes such as revised goals for per person water use and how irrigation restrictions are initiated during times of drought. Previously, Lavon Lake had to be at less than 55 percent capacity during April-October for Stage 1 to begin; the new measure begins Stage 1 at less than 70 percent capacity.

After the final plans are submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the North Texas Municipal Water District, they will be posted for the public May 1. The plans, established in 2014, are required by the TCEQ to be reviewed every five years. To view Monday’s hearing, click here.

Local Match Approved for Traffic Signal Retiming Project
Retiming work at 80 of Richardson’s 128 signalized intersections will begin this summer thanks to grant funding awarded by the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) and a local match approved by the City Council Monday. The City will receive more than $347,000 in federal and state funds after applying for the grant in late 2017. About 22.5 percent, or $100,800, of the $448,000 in total funding for the retiming project will be provided by the City.

Monday’s vote came after a presentation to the City Council last month by traffic engineering consultants who conducted a Traffic Signal System Effectiveness Study. Among the study’s results was the recommendation that the City move forward with the grant-funded signal retiming project. Conducting a comprehensive evaluation of traffic signalization is one of the City Council’s 2017-19 Goal tactics.

The retiming work will take place in the Renner, Campbell and Arapaho corridors and will begin with analysis of intersection traffic, with signal timing changes expected to start in late 2019/early 2020. The City has also received a grant award from NCTCOG to buy and install vehicle detection video cameras at 60 signalized intersections, which will further assist in traffic assessment, and the local match requested for that grant will be reviewed by the City Council in the fall.

Library Closed Sunday
The Richardson Public Library will be closed Sunday, April 21 due to the Easter holiday. It will reopen Monday, April 22 at 9 a.m.

Neighborhood Leadership Workshop Held
The City hosted around 130 volunteer leaders/board members from local homeowner and neighborhood associations Tuesday evening at the HOA Leadership Workshop at City Hall. The biannual workshop and dinner provide networking opportunities as well as informative vendors and speakers that can help strengthen the associations.

Developing relationships with the associations is essential to the City’s communications program and a key element of outreach for Community Services, Crime Prevention, Emergency Services, Health and many more departments.

Senior Center Volunteer of the Year Recognized
Margerett Roberts was named Volunteer of the Year by the Richardson Senior Center at a luncheon Monday. Roberts has been volunteering at the Center since 2014 and serves primarily as a greeter. In addition, she tends to the library and puzzle table, waters indoor plants, gives tours, encourages patrons to participate in programs and helps in the kitchen when needed. Her 2018 volunteer hours totaled 960.

The Senior Center annually recognizes a volunteer that exemplifies the spirit of volunteerism.

Closures Possible on Dorothy Drive, Polk Street
Southbound Dorothy Drive between La Salle Drive and Main Street and westbound Polk Street between Lois Lane and Dorothy Drive may be closed to traffic from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. through early June due to gas main replacement at several locations in the area. Both northbound and southbound Dorothy Drive and eastbound and westbound Polk Street will be narrowed in these sections during the utility work.

Free Yoga Continues at CityLine Every Saturday
CityLine is hosting outdoor yoga at CityLine Plaza, 1150 State St., every Saturday morning during April and May at 9 a.m. The complimentary classes, led by certified instructors, are designed for all levels, and all ages (including children) are welcome.

Free parking is available in the CityLine garages and along State Street. Attendees are asked to bring a mat and arrive 15 minutes early to sign a waiver. In the event of inclement weather, class will be canceled.

Library now on Instagram
Fans of the Richardson Public Library can now follow the Library on Instagram—Library staff announced the new Instagram presence this week. In addition, the Library will no longer use Twitter for social media outreach.

To follow the Library on Instagram, look for @richardsonlibrary.

Tech Savvy: “Google Slides” April 23
Adults and teens are invited to attend a free class to learn about Google Slides Tuesday, April 23 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the Basement Training Room. This introductory class will teach participants to:

“Cookies, Crafts and Crayons” April 25
All ages are welcome to take a break and snack, craft and color in the First Floor Program Room Thursday, April 25 from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Admission is free, no pre-registration is required and all supplies (and cookies) are provided.

For more information, call 972-744-4358.

Book Sale Begins April 26
The Friends of the Richardson Public Library will hold their biannual book sale April 26-28 in the Library’s Basement Program Room from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2-5 p.m. Sunday. Choose from thousands of books, DVDs, CDs and more, most priced between 50 cents and $2.

PCA’s “Mary Poppins” Opens April 24
Through April 27 at 7:30 p.m. with a Saturday matinee at 1:30 p.m., in the Bank of America Theatre. Tickets are $12-$20.
Prestonwood Christian Academy presents the Disney and Cameron Mackintosh Broadway musical about the nanny who uses magic and common sense to teach a family how to value each other again.

Unless otherwise noted, tickets to Eisemann Center events are available at the Eisemann Center Ticket Office, 972-744-4650 and at www.eisemanncenter.com.

At UT Dallas

Free Lecture: “China Since Tiananmen” April 22
7 p.m. in the Jonsson Performance Hall. Admission is free.
The lecture will be given by China native Rowena Xiaoqing He, an acclaimed author, research associate at Harvard’s Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, assistant professor of history at St. Michael’s College and a current member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J.

Spring Arts Festival Begins April 24
Through Sunday, May 5, locations vary. Admission is free.
The annual Student Arts Festival features the work of more than 600 UT Dallas students from more than 40 courses. Audiences may enjoy a variety of music, art, theater and dance. For a complete schedule, click here.

Free lecture: “The Algorithmic Imagination” April 24
7:30 p.m. in the TI Auditorium. Admission is free.
Dr. Ed Finn will explore the consequences of algorithmic culture for individual and collective decision-making and imagination, drawing on current examples of computational culture, historical parallels and science fiction.

Poetry Reading April 25
7-9 p.m. in the Jonsson Auditorium. Admission is free.
Award-winning Brazilian poet Salgado Maranhão will give a bilingual reading from three collections of poetry.

Cottonwood Chair Art Contest Deadline is April 26
Got a chair? Decorate it into a work of art and enter it in the Cottonwood Art Festival’s Chair Art Contest. The beloved contest has been brought back in celebration of Cottonwood’s 50th anniversary May 4-5, and is open to both students and adults, individuals as well as groups. Participants may use an existing chair or build a chair, and are encouraged to use creativity, lots of detail and color to complete their piece of art.

Click here for an application. All entries must be delivered to the Community Events Department by 5 p.m. Friday, April 26. The entries will be on display throughout the weekend at the Cottonwood Art Festival and there will be a winning chair in each age category.

UNIDOS Meeting April 25
The Richardson Police Department will hold its next UNIDOS meeting Thursday, April 25 at 6 p.m. in the St. Paul Catholic Church Parish Center, 900 St. Paul Dr. Begun in 2006, UNIDOS involves quarterly meetings conducted entirely in Spanish, at which Richardson Police provide information, respond to questions and concerns and get to know the community.

For more information, contact Barbara Lopez-Cepeda at 972-744-4955 or click here.

Richardson Community Chorale April 25
The Richardson Community Chorale will present their spring concert, “A Taste of Italy,” Thursday, April 25 at 7 p.m. in the sanctuary of First United Methodist Church Richardson. Admission is free. The Chorale will perform songs in Italian and by Italian composers, from “That’s Amore,” to popular opera choruses by Verdi and Mozart and many more.

Following the concert, there will be an Italian dessert reception. For more information, visit www.rcchorale.org.

RCT Continues “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”
Repertory Company Theatre, 770 N. Coit Rd., is presenting “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” through April 28. The enduring Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical tells the Biblical story of Joseph, his jealous brothers and one very colorful garment, through a variety of music styles.

Show days and times are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $17 for youth and $28 for adults. For tickets and more information, visit www.rcttheatre.com.

Residents Participate in Trash Bash in Spite of Rain
Several groups took advantage of sunny skies Friday and Sunday to do trash cleanup events, due to the rains that canceled the outdoor portion of the City’s Trash Bash Saturday. Thirty-eight bags of trash were cleared from creeks in Breckinridge Park, Foxboro Park and other areas. In addition, citizens dropped off 24 boxes of books, CDs, etc. (for the upcoming Friends of the Library book sale) and 20 bags of clothing (for Network of Community Ministries) at the City Hall/Civic Center.

More than 200 volunteers and members of the general public attended the indoor portion of Trash Bash, which included free refreshments and an environmental education fair.

Public Transportation Encouraged for “Get on Board Day” April 25
Everyone is encouraged to leave their cars at home and ride public transit instead Thursday, April 25, which is 2019 National Get on Board Day. Sponsored by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), the event helps highlight the environmental and economic benefits transit brings to communities.

iNaturalist City Nature Challenge Begins April 26
Texas Parks and Wildlife and Texas Master Naturalists are challenging all Texans to participate in the worldwide 2019 iNaturalist City Nature Challenge April 26-29 to see which city can document the most species.

To participate, download the free iNaturalist app and take a picture of a plant or animal, and the iNaturalist community will help identify which species it is. Any observation in the greater metropolitan area of Dallas/Fort Worth will count during the four-day challenge—you can participate by exploring the life in your backyard, in one of Richardson’s many parks or beyond. You can also participate by identifying others’ observations, which helps increase the species count for our area. Identifications may be made through May 5.

Facilities Maintenance Superintendent ($5,880-$8,861 monthly)Facilities Maintenance is seeking individuals interested in providing strategic planning as it relates to City of Richardson facilities by making recommendations and overseeing the division budget, participating in short and long-term planning and overseeing related service contracts.

Animal Shelter Pet of the Week
This gorgeous guy is Charlie! He is a 3 year old Husky mix! He is fully vetted, neutered and microchipped. Charlie is a super friendly and playful guy! He weighs in at 69 pounds and has a beautiful dark red/brown coat with white. Please come by the Shelter and visit him! If you are looking for a playful, energetic member of the family, he will be perfect!

For information about other animals available for adoption, visit the Animal Shelter’s web page here.